Breaking News: Turkey's current population announced

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) has announced the results of the 2025 Address-Based Population Registration System. Accordingly, the population residing in Turkey reached 86 million 92 thousand 168 people as of December 31, 2025, an increase of 427,224 people compared to the previous year. The male population was 43 million 59 thousand 434, while the female population was 43 million 32 thousand 734. In other words, males accounted for 50.02% of the total population, and females accounted for 49.98%.

According to the results of the Address-Based Population Registration System (ADNKS), the foreign population(1) residing in our country increased by 38,968 people compared to the previous year, reaching 1 million 519 thousand 515. Males made up 49.3% of this population, while females made up 50.7%.

POPULATION GROWTH RATE WAS 5 PER THOUSAND

While the annual population growth rate was 3.4 per thousand in 2024, it was 5 per thousand in 2025.

THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE LIVING IN PROVINCE AND DISTRICT CENTERS WAS 93.6 PERCENT

The proportion of people living in province and district centers in Turkey, which was 93.4% in 2024, became 93.6% in 2025. On the other hand, the proportion of those living in towns and villages fell from 6.6% to 6.4%.

Those residing in places classified as dense urban areas made up 67.5% of our population.

With the implementation of the Spatial Address Registration System (MAKS), a new classification has been created in the distinction of "dense urban, moderately dense urban, and rural"(2), which more accurately reflects the actual urban-rural structure.

According to this classification, it was observed that 67.5% of Turkey's population lived in settlements classified as dense urban, 15.8% in moderately dense urban, and 16.8% in rural areas.

THE POPULATION OF 33 PROVINCES IN TURKEY DECREASED

While a decrease in population was observed in 40 provinces in our country in 2024 compared to the previous year, it was observed that the population of 33 provinces decreased in 2025.

ISTANBUL'S POPULATION REACHED 15 MILLION 754 THOUSAND 53

Istanbul's population increased by 52,451 people compared to the previous year, reaching 15 million 754 thousand 53. Istanbul, where 18.3% of Turkey's population resides, was followed by Ankara with 5 million 910 thousand 320 people, Izmir with 4 million 504 thousand 185 people, Bursa with 3 million 263 thousand 11 people, and Antalya with 2 million 777 thousand 677 people.

THE PROVINCE WITH THE LOWEST POPULATION WAS BAYBURT WITH 82 THOUSAND 836 PEOPLE

Bayburt became the province with the lowest population with 82,836 people. Bayburt was followed by Tunceli with 85,083 people, Ardahan with 90,392 people, Gümüşhane with 138,807 people, and Kilis with 157,363 people.

ESENYURT BECAME THE FIRST DISTRICT IN TURKEY WITH A POPULATION EXCEEDING 1 MILLION

When the population distribution by districts was examined, it was seen that the Esenyurt district of Istanbul province ranked first with 1 million 3 thousand 905 people. Accordingly, for the first time in Turkey, the population of a district has exceeded 1 million. Esenyurt district was followed by Şahinbey district of Gaziantep province with 957,792 people, Çankaya district of Ankara province with 952,198 people, Keçiören district of Ankara province with 931,722 people, and Şehitkamil district of Gaziantep province with 905,880 people.

STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN THE POPULATION PYRAMID CONTINUED

Population pyramids are defined as graphs showing the change in the age and gender structure of the population. When Turkey's 2007 and 2025 population pyramids are compared, it is observed that the elderly population has increased and the median age has risen due to the decrease in fertility and mortality rates.

THE MEDIAN AGE OF TURKEY'S POPULATION ROSE TO 34.9

The median age is the age of the person in the middle when the ages of the people forming the population are ordered from the newborn baby to the oldest. The median age is also one of the important indicators used in interpreting the age structure of the population.

The median age in Turkey, which was 34.4 in 2024, rose to 34.9 in 2025. When examined by gender, it was observed that the median age rose from 33.7 to 34.2 for men and from 35.2 to 35.7 for women.

THE PROVINCE WITH THE HIGHEST MEDIAN AGE WAS SINOP, AND THE LOWEST WAS ŞANLIURFA

When looking at the distribution of the median age by provinces, it was seen that Sinop was the province with the highest median age value at 44. Sinop was followed by Giresun with 43.5 and Kastamonu with 43.3. On the other hand, Şanlıurfa was the province with the lowest median age at 21.8. Şanlıurfa was followed by Şırnak with 23.3 and Siirt with 25.

SINOP WAS THE PROVINCE WITH THE HIGHEST MEDIAN AGE FOR BOTH WOMEN AND MEN

When the distribution of the median age by provinces and gender was examined, Sinop was the province with the highest median age for men at 43, while Şanlıurfa was the province with the lowest median age at 21.3. For women, Sinop was again the province with the highest median age value at 44.9, while Şanlıurfa was the province with the lowest median age value at 22.3.

IT WAS OBSERVED THAT THE PROPORTION OF THOSE WHO NEVER MARRIED WAS HIGHER AMONG MEN

When the distribution of marital status by gender in our country in 2009 and 2025 was examined, it was observed that the proportion of those who never married was higher among men than women, and the proportion of those whose spouse died and those who were divorced was higher among women than men. On the other hand, it was observed that the proportion of married people, who constitute the vast majority, was close to each other in both genders in 2009 and 2025.

THE PROPORTION OF THE WORKING-AGE POPULATION WAS 68.5 PERCENT

The proportion of the population in the 15-64 age group, defined as the working age, was 66.5% in 2007 and 68.5% in 2025. On the other hand, while the proportion of the population in the 0-14 age group, defined as the child age group, fell from 26.4% to 20.4%, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over rose from 7.1% to 11.1%.

TOTAL AGE DEPENDENCY RATIO DECREASED

The total age dependency ratio, which shows the number of children and elderly individuals per working-age individual, fell from 46.1% in 2024 to 46% in 2025. While the child dependency ratio, which expresses the number of children per working-age individual, fell from 30.6% to 29.7%, the elderly dependency ratio, which measures the number of elderly individuals per working-age individual, rose from 15.5% to 16.2%. In other words, in Turkey in 2025, every 100 people of working age are supporting 29.7 children and 16.2 elderly people.

WHILE THERE WERE 112 PEOPLE PER SQUARE KILOMETER IN TURKEY, THERE WERE 2 THOUSAND 943 PEOPLE IN ISTANBUL

The "number of people per square kilometer", defined as population density, was 112 people across Turkey. Istanbul was our province with the highest population density with 2,943 people per square kilometer. Istanbul was followed by Kocaeli with 633 people and Yalova, the province with the smallest surface area, with 395 people.

The province with the lowest population density was Tunceli with 11 people per square kilometer, as it was in the previous year. Tunceli was followed by Ardahan with 19 people and Erzincan and Gümüşhane with 21 people. On the other hand, the population density of Konya, which ranks first in terms of surface area, was 59.